Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



W. R. MORRISON. MAIL BAG OATGHER AND DELIVERER. APPLICATION FILED DBO. 2a, 1907.

,' 901,812 Patented Oct. 20,1908.

s SHEETS-SHEET 1. 29

ATTORNEYS- APPLICATION FILED D3018 1907.

v w M M m 11 E 3 TI E H Y W 2 LU i m I T L E 4. T m m M A d w v .w v E Y m x a MAIL BAG uEuvERER I W. R. MORRISON. MAIL BAG GATOHER AND DELIVERER.

A PPLIOATION FILED DEC. 28, 1907.

Patented Oct. 20, 1908 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR .MBRHISEIN B) WITNESSES w IILLIAM R 4 TTOHNEYS -with my improved mail-hag receivin WILLIAM R. MORRISON, DERBY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

it-Amuse GATGEER A31); nntivnnnn.

' No. eonsie.

To all it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. Mon- :nrson, a citizen of the United States, residmg at Derry, in the county of Rockiugham,

State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Mail-Ba Catchers and Deliverers,-of which the to owing is a specifij cation. l I

My invention is an improvement in that class of ap aratus or devices designed for use on rai ways for receiving mail-sacks from a passing train and for delivering sacks thereto.

The invention is embodied in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter set forth, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a side view of a portion. of a mail-car with mail-bag hooks arranged and suspended on either side of the doorway in the position they occupy when not in use. Fig.2. is a cross section on the line 22 of 1 Fig. 4, showing a crane. for receiving niailbags or pouches for the car-hooks shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the car and a side elevation of the post arranged alongside the track and provideg delivering devices, the car-hook eing shown extended in the position required for receiving or. delivering mail bags. is a face view ofthe post provided with receiving; and delivering cranes, and a yielding device adapted for relieving impactv of a mailbag when being received. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus which is, attached to a car, the same being shown in operative position and the side of the car being represented in section. Fig.

6 is a horizontal section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings, A and A indicate duplicate devices, to T'Wit, car-hooks which are Hadapted'i'or hoth receiving and delivering mailbags pr pouches. These consist (see especially Figs. 1 and 5) of levers 1 whose outer ends-2am bent outward and curved, and supported by a diagonal brace 3, and a spring hook 4,.whose outer end is turned outward opposite end 2 and whose shank is turned inward and riveted to the body of- Spcciflnafim of Letters Patent. Application filed December 28, 1E0? Serial No. 409,364.

serve-also as means for receivin a mail- Fig. 4

Patented Oct. 20, 1906.

lever 1. Each of the levers} is rovided.

with a hub 5 by which it is 3curna ed on a horizontal shait 6 extending across the doorway of the car and supported in eyes Z fixed to the car body, as shown in Fig. 5.

The rigid art 2 and the opposite outwardly curve spring 4 constitute a spring holder for supporti a mail-bag for deliv ery as indicated by fitted lines, Fig. 5, and

as will beufurther described.

hang as mdicated in Fig. 1, thus leaving the doorway entirely unobstructed save by the, shaft 6, which extends across'it. Either of 'the hooks A or A may be usedalone, or singly, for both delivering and receivingina1l-bags or pouches; but ordinarily, they will be brought together and secured coupling forms a permanent attachment of one of the hooks and is adapted to be'readily engaged with the other (see especially Fig. 1). Thus the two hooks A, A, when brought together, constitute what may be termed a double hook, which is operated as one device for receiving or delivering Ipail. bags, according to thedirection in whlch the car is moving.

As shown 1n Figs. 3 and 6, a rod 9, which is in practice pivoted to the roof ofthe'c'ar, is provided at its lower end with an eye .19", adapted to receive the inner ends of the hook levers 1 and thus support the double hook in the horizontal position in which it is adapted I e hooks i and A, when notin' use, are separated and vertically on the sides of the cardoor y a clasp 8, as shown in Fig. 5.- This. clasp or zontal position on the post 11 and separated from each other vertically by a distance sufiicient to allow the hooks A and A to pass freely between them. The upper cranes B project in opposite directions from the post 11 and are considerably longer than the flower cranes B, shown in Fig. 4. The

two sets of cranes are similarly constru ted, however, and consist of right-angular ars 12 whose shanks have lateral bends 12 adapted to receive the post 11 between them, and are clamped or bolted to the same, as shown best in Fig. 6. The outer end of the bar 12 is curved laterally and supported by a diagonal brace '13. A spring hook 14 is attached to the bar 12 on the outside and its. free end is curved outward directly opposite the curved portion of the bar 12. Since the and 5, and that it is desired to receive a mailbag which has been suspended from one of the cranes B on the post as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 6. The double car-hook is swung upward into horizontal position and is held mechanically in that position by means of the pendent or swinging bar 9, as shown in Fig. 3. As the car moves in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 5, the hooks pass between'the cranes B, B, and the hook A, which is in advance, will engage and receive the mail-bag, the spring portion of the hook yielding to allow the mail-bag to pass in. The mail clerk or agent on the car then detaches the swinging bar 9 from the hook levers 1 and the bag is swung into the car. Suppose, on the other hand, that it be desired to deliver a mail-bag from the double hook to the lower crane B on the post 11. In such case, the mail-bag is suspended from hook A or hook A, according to the direction in which the car is moving; thus, if the car be moving in the direction indicated by arrow, Fig. 5, the mail-bag would be suspended from the hook A, and the right hand .lower crane B would, in such case, obviously receive the mail-bag fromv the hook. When the train is running with considerable speed, it is obvious that the mail-bag will he suddenly arrested by the crane, and to relieve the shock of impact, I provide a device 15, which is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It consists of two woven-wire shields arranged at a considerable angle to each other, and rigidly connected and spaced apart by rods 15 forming part of the suspending frame. The latter swings on a horizontal shaft 16 that is fixed to the post 11. A curved spring 17 is rigidly attached to the shaft 16 and its ends arefixed to the post; see Fig. 4:. It is obvious that not only is to say, swung, on its pivot, as indicatedto the outer ends of said levers.

consisting oftt by dotted lines Fig. 4. In this manner, the impact of the mail-bag will be mostly taken up or relieved, so that injury to the same or to the crane, will be avoided.

Since there is considerable strain on the car-hooks in both delivering and receiving mail-bags, I have provided tension devices which .consist of chains 18 and springs 19 connected and arranged as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5. That is to say, the springs are attached to eyes oneach side of the doorway, and the chains connected therewith are attached to eyes on the hook levers 1 adjacent The combined length of the chains and springs is so proportioned that one of the springs will be brought under tension, as shown in Fig. 5,

when the hook is adjusted near the oppositeside of the doorway, and consequently at that time the other chain and spring are slack,

as indicated. When the two hooks are separated and arranged in vertical position on opposite sides of the car doorway, as shown in Fig. 1, the chains and springs hang vertical as there shown. In practice, the hubs -5 of the hook levers 1 will be provided with anti-friction balls to enable the hooks to be manipulated on the shaft 6 with greater ease.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for the purpose specified, the combination, with a car and a transverse shaft arranged across its side doorway, of,hooks adapted to slide on such shaft and projecting in opposite directions, and means for coupling such hooks together detachably, so that they may be used as a double hook, or disconnected and arranged on the sides of the doorway when not required for use, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for the purpose specitied, the combination, with a car and a horizontal shaft extending across its side door- --car body adjacent to the doorway, and at its opposite end to the hook of the catcher, the normal length of the said device being such that it is subjected to tension when the hook slides back part way of the length of the shaft, as shown and described.

3 In an apparatus for the purpose spepified, the combination, with a support arranged adjacent to a railway track, and a mail-bag catcher secured thereto, of an impact-reliever located below such catcher, and frame on which a mail-bag is received, the same having a pivot on which it is adapted to swing in a vertical plane,-

substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose specified, the combination, with a fixed support and a mail-bag catcher attached thereto of an impact-reliever consisting of a device in- Woven Wire stretched. thereon in two planes 10 terposed in the path of a mail-bug and adaptwhich are atan angle to each other, shown ed to swlng 1n :1 vertlcal plane, and a sprlng the devlee belng plvot'ed and adapted to whlch resxsts the movement of the stud deswlng 111 a vertlcal plane, substantmlly as vice, substantially as described. 7 described.

' 5. In an apparatus for the purpose speci- VILLIAM R. IVKORRISON. 1 tied, the combination, with a fixed support, Witnesses:

and a mail-bag catcher secured thereto, of an NATHANH'IL G. HEAD,

impact-reliever comprlsing frames having Gnolmn. C. MORRISON, 

